A woman from North Carolina was arrested on a drunk driving charge in a golf cart at a town square in The Villages.
Kristen Claire Grunskis, 36, of Swannaoa, N.C. was driving a gold 2018 Yamaha golf cart that was backing out of a parking space shortly after 7 p.m. Friday at Lake Sumter Landing, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy noticed the golf cart did not have any rear vehicle lights illuminated and initiated a traffic stop.
Grunskis presented her North Carolina driver’s license and the deputy could “smell the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the golf cart,” the report said. Grunskis was asked how much she’d had to drink and initially claimed she’d had “a martini over dinner.” She “later admitted to drinking an Expresso Martini, a Very Dirty Martini and a third drink that she couldn’t recall the name.”
The deputy requested that Grunskis take part in field sobriety exercises.
“Can we just not do that and I’ll have someone pick us up?” she asked the deputy.
Once the deputy explained that was not an option, Grunskis pointed out she had suffered a right ankle injury, which had been surgically repaired, after a childhood horseback riding accident. Her performance in the exercises led the deputy to conclude she had been driving impaired. She refused to provide a breath sample.
In her purse, Grunskis had a receipt showing she had paid for two Espresso Martinis and two Very Dirty Martinis at Redsauce restaurant at the square.
A computer check revealed Grunskis had previously been arrested on a DUI charge in 2009, also in Florida.
Grunskis was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. She was released after posting $1,000 bond.
